IRVING FLORES: Armando Mi Conga

Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker helped to introduce an Afro-Cuban feel into the world of jazz via his contribution to composer Chico O’Farrill’s composition “Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite,” featured on the 1953 Clef Records album Machito. Parker’s running mate, Dizzy Gillespie, released the album Afro in 1954 (Norgram Records). Those two albums laid the groundwork for the growth of Latin music in America, sounds filled with vibrant, bubbling rhythms and exceptional musicianship. And it must be remembered that in the early 1950s, during the early days of television, the wildly popular I Love Lucy sitcom featured, as Lucy’s husband, a Latin jazz singer and bandleader named Ricky Ricardo, whose real name was Desi Arnaz. “Babalu,” anyone?

Television aside, it has never gotten better than Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. But many have followed in their footsteps: Chucho Valdez, Arturo O’Farrill, and Miguel Zenon, to name just a few. And now, the San Diego-based pianist Irving Flores deserves to be mentioned in any discussion of the top-level Latin jazz artists of 2025.

Flores and his Afro-Cuban sextet have created a gem of the genre with Armando Mi Conga, an album of life-affirming sounds laid down by an all-star group, with Flores on piano, John Benitez on bass, conga man Giovani Hidalgo, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez in the drum chair, trumpeter Brian Lynch, and mulitple-reedist (flute, tenor sax, clarinet, baritone sax) Norbert Stachel.

The album bursts to life with a full minute of a densely packed conga solo. Then the rest of the band jumps in, bright and sassy, leading into Lynch’s torrid trumpet solo. More so than many forms of jazz, the backdrop in Latin jazz is as important as what is going on out front line—saucy and dance-inducing—a leave-your-troubles-at-the-front-door type of music, find a dance partner ,and cut loose.

“Gary en Natchital” provides a cooler vibe, a smoother groove. There is still cooking, but it is on a lower flame, with a deft arrangement that gives reedman Stachel a chance to shine. With “With Amanda in Favignana,” the percussionists slip into subtle accompanist modes. Trumpeter Lynch takes the lead, his tone tangy and bright, while Flores offers an intricate solo celebrating a trip he and his wife took to Favignana, Italy. The vibe is romantic and warm, the ensemble interplay loose and playful.

“Tramanto A Massa Lubrense” finds Flores front and center in a tender ballad. The Latin feel gives way to a straight-ahead mode, and the mood is as lovelorn as two glasses off on a balcony at sunset.

More of the living, breathing Latin sounds spice the air in “Music en la Calle” and “Samba Con Sabor” and “Recuerdos,” before Flores wraps things up with a gorgeous solo piano version of “With Amanda in Favignana” that says love is in the air.